Competitive Cheer is a sport unique in the state of Michigan. Unlike other states, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) developed Girls Competitive Cheer as a "sport" in order to fulfill Title IX requirements involving the number of athletic opportunities available to female athletes. In other states, cheer is usually considered a support group and does not have recognition as a sport. This unique status as a "sport" means that competitive cheer has a fairly extensive list of requirements and guidelines set forth for it, as well as a fairly complicated and subjective set of guidelines for scoring.

Competitive Cheer consists of three rounds, or routines, of competition. Each team performs all three rounds and is scored on each on using a score sheet designed for that particular round and it's requirements. The different rounds serve to highlight the strengths of a team in different aspects of cheer. Below, you will find more information regarding each round.

In Junior High, the teams only perform two rounds (Rounds Two and Three). At the high school level, all three rounds are performed. Scores for a particular competition are the sum of all rounds performed to determine the winner.

ROUND ONE

Round one is judged on the following criteria:

Floor Mobility: Judges watch for all errors of accuracy of formations. They watch to make sure the cheer flows from one formation to the next. Formations should not take away from the cheer, but enhance the cheer. They should be smooth formation changes and all athletes on the mat should provide smooth transitions to and from formations.

Vocals: The judges evaluate voice inflection, clarity, appropriate choice of words, and team volume. Is the volume appropriate for the number of competitors on the floor?

Jumps: The first two jumps that are performed are judged. they are judged on form, toes pointed, backs straight, legs straight, arm position, height of jump, and landing. They are basically looking for Technique, Togetherness, and Ease of the jump.

Team Coordination: The judges are evaluating the precision and synchronization in position of hands/arms/legs, feet/body/head. They are watching for execution to be precise with the team's style of cheer. They keep track of every error they see and rate the performance on the number of errors compared to the volume of movements.

Difficulty and Variety: Each movement, motion, level, peel offs, ripples are all assigned variety and difficulty points. In order to receive a 10 the team must do between 12-15 different skills and up to 50% of those should be Difficult.

General Impression: The judges evaluate the routine based on its uniqueness and creativity. They also are evaluating the smoothness of the cheer, and overall impression of the ENTIRE performance.

ROUND TWO

Round Two is judged on the following criteria:

10 Count Precision Drill: The 10-count precision drill is a requirement and must be performed at the beginning of round two. It is the first 10 motions that the team does. It must be performed in unison, in the order given, and must be the same as the book. The tempo, voices, and head movements are the teams choice. See the video below for this year's 10-Count Precision Drill.

Skills: The team must perform 5 skills in unison. They are judged on the execution of the skill, the arms, hands, legs, feet, and torso during the skill. The body must be in the correct position. Any extra movements, such as steps, will be deducted from the execution of that skill.

The judges are evaluating each of the five skills on a ten point scale. All errors are applied equally regardless of the VALUE of the skill. The score table then converts each of the skills with a multiplier that is attached to each of the specific skills. Example: The back tuck has a 1.4 multiplier. A toe touch jump has a 1.0 multiplier. If the team gets a 9.0 on the jump it is multiplied times 1.0 for the final score of that skill for total of 9.0 from that judge. A back tuck that gets a 9.0 times the 1.4 multiplier would result in a 12.6 for that skill. While both skills were performed very well, the team that does the back tuck would end up with 3.6 more points PER JUDGE for that one skill. Obviously, the skill choice and execution makes a huge impact on the overall score.

General Impression: The judges will give a score up to ten points for the general impression of the round. They are looking for poise, ease of the performance, energy, creativity in moving from one skill to another. They evaluate the execution, other than skills and precision drill, and continuity in the category.

ROUND THREE

Round three is judged using the following criteria:

Variety of Skills: This is the number of different tumbling skills, jumps, stunts, flairs performed. Each different skill is given a variety point for the first time it is performed. For example: if an extension is done four times, it is only given one variety point. In order to get variety points for tumbling, more than one competitor has to perform the skills in unison.

Difficulty of skills: Each judge evaluates the difficulty of the tumbling, gymnastics, stunts, flairs, transitions, and jumps performed on a 1-20 scale. Different skills are given different point values. The judges use a chart that lists the total points awarded compared to the number of girls in the round to get the total difficulty points to award to each team.

Execution: The judges evaluate tumbling, jumps, stunts,gymnastics, flairs, transitions, and preps for proper execution. If there are more than twelve girls in the round the team can earn extra execution points. Deductions are made for wobbles, falls, balance checks, steps, and so on.

Execution Bonus: Teams that do not have a lot of execution deductions may earn execution bonus points from the judges.

Choreography Bonus: Teams that perform one leg extensions, double twists, single twists, team tumbling, and back tucks can be awarded choreography bonus points if they perform the needed amount determined by the number of girls on the floor.

*The coaches have to hand in a round three description the day before the meet. The officials evaluate this sheet prior to the meet and then look at the sheet during the meet. It is a tool the judges need to make sure the coaches and teams are performing the required amount of skills.

The execution is usually the part of the sheet that parents and athletes don't understand. If a flier falls hard to the ground it is a 2 point deduction, a fall that is caught, but just comes down clean is usually a 1 point deduction, a balance check might only be a .3 to .5 deduction, and a bobble could be a .5 deduction.

In the stands a fall may look worse than it does in the judge's eyes. A team that has a 2.0 fall but is clean through the rest of the round can still end up with a very high total score while a team with no falls that is messy can have a much lower score than the team that fell. Also, keep in mind that if a gymnastics skill falls to the ground in this round, it is the same deduction as a flier falling to the ground.